The Blairstown couple kept several large birds and other animals.
Neighbors said that Julie Matte and Edward Aghahowa rescued animals, particularly large birds, and kept them at their Blairstown Township home.
A scarlet macaw is seen at Space Farms in Wantage Township, N.J., in 2004. Julie Matte and Edward Aghahowa kept macaws and other rescued birds at their Blairstown Township home. (NJ Advance Media file photo) Now those many pets are being rescued again after the deaths of their owners last week in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide.
Matte, 46, was found dead about 1 a.m. Oct. 26 at her Cherry Tree Lane home, minutes after calling 911 to report she was being shot at, authorities said. The body of her 55-year-old husband, Edward Aghahowa, was found hours later at a campground six miles away with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke said the pair had several birds, a large snake, at least one horse and a large dog, and that the local animal control officer was brought in.
Blairstown Mayor Herman Shoemaker on Tuesday said a relative of the victims' was coming to look after things.
Jeanne Gilligan, who helps run the Blairstown-based non-profit A Helping Wing, said Matte and Aghahowa were her friends.
Murder-suicide shocks N.J. neighborhood
While other friends of the family will relocate the other animals, she said, her charity is taking in the birds -- at least three macaws, an African gray parrot, a handful of lovebirds and maybe as many as 30 finches.
After they are checked by a vet, the birds will be housed on A Helping Wing's 42 acres and eventually be put up for adoption early next year, Gilligan said. Because the larger birds have long lifespans -- some can live 80 years or more -- the adoption process is rigorous, involving multiple visits.
"Basically we let the bird choose the person," she said. "Every bird deserves a chance to find a home."
More information on A Helping Wing and the adoption process can be found online at ahelpingwing.org.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.